B.C. BMX kid wows GoPro with homemade video

Rex Johnson and his father Jules Johnson strapped one of the action cameras to his bike helmet and hit the jumps and bumps at the Abbotsford BMX Track.

The result was 90 seconds of running commentary, funny faces and general observations from inside the mind of an eight-year-old.

“Doesn’t it feel a little weird when you first start riding a bike,” Rex shares during the video.

Jules then edited the video and sent it off to GoPro for consideration in the GoPro Awards, which was created by the company to celebrate its many content creators. He said it was a goal of his son to win one of the awards and be featured on the GoPro website and YouTube channel.

“We got the idea from just following GoPro on YouTube,” he said. “We liked watching all the videos and Rex wanted to be in one of those videos featured.”

Jules said there was no real plan, and Rex’s play-by-play just happened.

“It was a spur-of-the-moment thing but it really turned out better than expected,” he said. “He’s got all the facial expressions and all the stuff he’s saying and it worked together to make a pretty good little video.”

Unlike other GoPro videos, the Johnsons set up the camera facing Rex’s face so that viewers get to watch his reaction to his time on the bike.

“I thought it would be a fun angle to see what his face looks like while he’s riding,” Jules said.

“GoPro likes a unique perspective and the key to the video is really that first-person perspective. It turned out pretty cute.”

Jules said his son, who is a member of the Abbotsford BMX Club and is a Grade 2 student at Clearbrook Elementary, is thrilled to be chosen by GoPro.

“He’s pretty excited,” he said. “We weren’t expecting to get selected. We tried once or twice before with other videos but didn’t make it. He had a goal to make it on there and he was so happy when we found out we made it. He likes setting goals and achieving them.”

The Johnsons will now be featured on the GoPro social media channels, and could be eligible to win GoPro gear and cash rewards. The video will be officially released today (Friday) at 9 a.m. on GoPro’s YouTube page.